I’m normally on the road for two weeks at a time, and pack for an eclectic mix of security council briefings and refugee camp visits, warlords and presidents. My suitcase must be the only one in the world to have visited Darfur, Gaza, Goma, Kupiansk, Mandalay, Homs, Beirut and Kandahar in the past year — and is pretty smashed up.
I try to have a complete spare prepacked suitcase ready, to maximise the brief moments with family when I’m home between trips. It contains toiletries (I hoard miniatures), suit, sturdy boots, mosquito net, first aid, sleeping pills, non-iron shirts, rehydration salts, protein bars, noise-cancelling headphones, vitamin C. My luxury is a hand-pumped espresso maker.
